Mother & Child, A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction
by Sairahiniel SakuraAeris1497
Summary: Riku has always been wondering about his parents and who they really were...until a special friend helps him. Riku finally finds his mom but is shocked by what she tells him. See the life of Riku's parent through her testimonies as she reveals her past to her Keyblade master son. Rated K for mild violence and hints of violence. Sequel to Secrets of the Heart & Kingdom Hearts 3D.
1. A talk on Destiny Islands

Hello, fellow readers. Welcome back to my safe haven for stories. I hope you enjoy this story and please review. Just don't bash another's work, thank you. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Square Enix but I do own my OC's.

**Chapter 1: A talk on Destiny Islands **

One day on a world called Destiny Islands, there were three people on a secluded part of the island. There was a silver-haired 17 year old boy named Riku, a brown-haired 16 year old boy named Sora, and a red-haired 16 year old girl named Kairi. The trio started to talk.

"You know guys, I feel like I don't know the truth about my real birth parents." Riku said.

"But you do remember them, right Riku?" Sora asked.

"NO! I only remember memories of my parents but I feel like there's something I don't know about them, something that they've kept from me all these years." Riku exclaimed.

Kairi waited a moment before asking, "Then, tell us… do you know where your real birth parents are?"

Riku hesitated a minute, but once he gained the courage, he explained about his real birth parents. "My real birth parents don't live here on Destiny Islands. I think they live somewhere else far away from here. The last time that I saw the both of them alive was when I was 3 years old…I don't know what happened to them after that night… I've just become so curious over the years that I would give anything to see them one more time. I'd want to tell them everything about me so that we could start over and live a happy life together."

Kairi and Sora pondered the thought before King Mickey came up from behind them. "But, Riku my boy. There is a way that you can see at least one of your parents."

"King Mickey…which one?"

"Your mother, Mizu."

"My mother's alive?!"

"Yes… in fact I know exactly where she lives and I can take you to her right now."

"Would you?"

"I'd do anything for you because after all, I consider it a personal favor for a good friend. Plus, I owe you for all the journeys we completed and battles we fought together."

"Thank you so much, Mickey. You're the best."

"Your friends can also come too."

Riku waited before shouting, "Then, what are we standing here for? Let's go."


	2. Finding Mother

**Chapter 2: Finding Mother**

Mizu lived in Radiant Garden in a modern, two story house that over-looked the beach. Once the group reached the front door; Riku knocked the first time… but there was no answer. He thought that she might not have heard him. Riku knocked again but, there was still no reply.

Riku then turned and asked suspiciously, "Mickey, are you even sure she lives here or is she even home?"

Mickey replied by saying, "She does live here… that I promise you. She's lived here for 17 years, Riku. She never left this area."

Riku started to walk away but, Sora stopped him when he noticed the door was unlocked. The door creaked open and the group decided to go inside. Kairi was the last to enter and she shut the door behind her. The inside of the house looked very cozy and peaceful. There were lots of pictures of Riku, Mizu, and Riku's father, Jason inside the house. Surprisingly, everything was the same to Riku.

"Riku, do you suppose your mother's upstairs?"

"I dunno, Sora."

"You wanna check and see?"

"S-Sure…"

Kairi put her hand on Riku's shoulder. "Are you okay Riku? You seem a little nervous about something."

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine… I'm just nervous about seeing my mom again. That's all."

Sora exclaimed, "Don't you worry about a thing, Riku. She'll probably be so happy to see you that she probably won't believe her eyes."

"Well, guys… then what are we waiting for? Let's go find your mom, Riku." Mickey replied.

They looked in all the rooms downstairs, but they didn't find Mizu. They continued upstairs and looked through all the rooms. They came to a blue door that said 'Riku's Room' in yellow writing. They opened the door and found the room just as it was when Riku was 3. Riku looked around and saw a flashback of him as a child again with Mizu going through his mind, instead of being a teenager now in the present day. (To him, nothing in this house had changed.) The soft, warm bed looked like it did the last time Riku was there, and the closet still had all of his old clothes inside it. Even the walls and carpets on the floor were the same color: baby blue and sea-green. His friends touched the blue, yellow trimmed bed covers and they were surprisingly warm… almost as if Riku had slept in that bed for years. Riku was close to tears, but he held them back.

They left the room and came to a blue-green door with a paopu star-shaped fruit on it. Riku cracked the door open and let everyone inside. He called out for his mother, "Mom! A-Are you here?" There was no sound. Riku opened the curtains on the window and light enveloped the room. He looked towards the direction of the bed and saw his mother lying there, unconscious. She was a young woman in her thirties, who looked about 20-something, and had silver hair that framed her olive skin, which was in a low ponytail and had a small side braid on the right side of her head. She was wearing a sky blue tank top with yellow trim, black jean shorts with white plumeria Hawaiian flowers printed on it, brown combat boots lined with white fur trim, white and black striped fingerless gloves, and the Aqua clan emblem necklace (tear-shaped sapphire stone) around her neck. She had a gentle, warm looking face and her hands even felt soft. He smiled at first and exclaimed, "Mother! It's me, Riku. I've come back." But when she didn't respond to him, he became worried and suspicious.

"Mom!?...MOM! No, this can't be. She couldn't be dead, could she? Have I come too late?" Riku whispered as his eyes started to well up with tears. "No, this can't be happening. THIS IS **ALL** MY FAULT! I'M TOO LATE!" he shouted as he threw himself onto the bed, without hesitation. He breathed deeply and then all of a sudden, he started to sob. Kairi and Sora went over to comfort him while Mickey stood behind them.

Kairi calmly said, "Riku, don't cry. She's gonna be alright."

"Stop crying, Riku. She'll be alright. You just have to think positive in a time like this." Sora reassured him.

But, Riku continued to cry, even when his friends patted his back and told him to calm down. After a while, Mickey couldn't take it anymore and explained, "Riku, she's not dead."

"What are you talking about, Mickey? She's unconscious. Of course she's dead-"

"**NO SHE'S ****NOT****!** Let me explain something to you… she's only in a dark coma."

"A dark what?"

"A dark coma."

Riku thought about what Mickey said but, he really didn't understand him. "I don't get it, Mickey. What's a dark coma?… I don't understand."

"Well, Riku, your mother goes through these series of internal attacks called dark comas where her anger takes over and she gets so angry that she wishes she could use the power of darkness. The light in her body won't allow it so they try to kill her darkness, but the darkness won't give up so easily, so the two powers fight with each other and eventually… she collapses into a dark coma."

Riku pondered the idea and then asked, "Can she be saved?"

"Yes."

Riku thought to himself, "If there's a way to save her… I'd do just about anything."

Then Riku exclaimed, "What do I need to do?"

Mickey thought and then had an idea. "Well, there is only one way that I know of."

"What is it?!"

"You would…need to use the power of light that way, her darkness will surrender and she'll awaken."

Riku looked pale and shocked. "L-Light?!... But I can't use the power of light. I'm only made up of darkness."

"Riku, no you're not! You're made up of **BOTH** light and darkness. You can't be just light and you can't be just darkness. You're the combination of both."

"Mickey… my light is weaker than my darkness. What if I accidently kill her instead of save her?"

Kairi chimed in, "You won't kill her. If you think that she can live, then she will. Light is love and happiness while darkness is anger and greed. You can save her if you love her more than your own life."

Riku thought about Kairi's words of wisdom and saw Sora nod his head in agreement. He then looked at Mickey and he gave Riku a stern but gentle look. Riku sighed deeply and then exclaimed, "Alright… I'll use my light to save her. I love her and I would save her… even if it meant killing myself in the process."

Kairi smiled at him and placed Riku's right hand on his mother's chest. She then whispered in his ear, "Think of happy memories. Think of the things that made you happy to be around her. You can also think of the memories you had with both your mom and dad."

Sora then came over and exclaimed, "Just save her, Riku. Don't let her die."

"Don't worry, Sora. If I let her die… I'll **NEVER** forgive myself." Riku replied. Riku took a deep breath and put his hands on his mother's heart. He thought of only good memories of her and white and gold energy started to surround his hands. His friends encouraged him while he used the power of light. But all of a sudden, the light turned into black and purple dark energy. Riku gasped and backed away, thinking to himself, "I'm making her condition worse; I'm going to get her killed!"

Sora appeared shocked and shouted, "What happened, Riku? You were doing so well."

Riku hesitated before speaking, but then he finally said, "I saw Ansem. I saw him in my head again… it was just so terrible. That's it, I can't do this… I'm just gonna kill my mom. This plan will **NEVER** work."

"Riku, your plan will never work if you give up now… you do want to see her again… don't you?" Kairi chimed in.

"Yes."

"Then don't give up just yet… I won't allow an old memory of Ansem to haunt you anymore. You must try again because if you don't… your mother will never have a chance of survival and eventually, she's going to die. So, that means you have to try again." Sora exclaimed.

Riku thanked his friends for their kind words, took a deep breath, and tried to use the power of light again. This time, Sora, Kairi, and even Mickey gave Riku their light to help. There was a flash of light and Riku saw something: He saw a gold and blue figure in the room, which looked just like his mom. She spun around him and, he even heard her laugh. Then she did something that was almost considered supernatural: Her eyes glowed whitish-yellow and that glow hit Riku's eyes and they stayed that way. He wouldn't move or speak. His eyes still had the glow, even after the figure went inside Riku's body and used light to sort of possess him, in a way.

After the light flash disappeared, Kairi, Sora, and Mickey unshielded their eyes to find a possessed Riku. Sora went up to Riku's face and waved his hand up and down, while shouting, "Riku! Hello…Earth to Riku!"

"Riku, can you hear me? Riku, you're kinda scaring me right now." Kairi chimed in.

Sora then asked suspiciously, "What's wrong with him, King Mickey?"

"Yeah, I don't get it. I've never seen this happen before." Kairi exclaimed.

Mickey explained, "Riku is now inside of his mother's mind…"

"INSIDE HER MIND?!" Sora and Kairi simultaneously exclaimed.

"Yes. The only reason she's in this coma in the first place is because the anger from her heart has been transported to her mind and only Riku can save her. If he can successfully defeat the darkness inside of her mind, she will live. But if not, she'll die. And if he escapes but doesn't defeat the darkness completely, she'll never awaken and she'll eventually die."

Sora and Kairi looked at one another and then Sora whispered in Riku's ear, "Come on, Riku. You can't lose this or else Mizu will die."

"Yeah, Riku… you can defeat the darkness! I know you can." Kairi chimed in.

Inside Mizu's mind, Riku woke up very groggily in a dark, fearful-looking place. He scratched his head and tried to figure out where he was. He then exclaimed, "I think I know where I am: I'm in my mom's mind… in a dream world created by her heart and memories!" He looked around, but saw nothing or no one. He then saw something in the corner of his eye and recognized it: It was his mother, Mizu, lying on the ground in a puddle of water, unconscious. There was also heartless covering her body, just tearing at her like they were hungry wolves that had caught their prey. Riku summoned his keyblade, which was also known as "Way to the Dawn" and decided to fight off these heartless alone. "**GET AWAY FROM HER!**" he shouted as he sliced the heartless like they were walking sticks of butter. He then put his keyblade on his knee and held his mother in his arms. She looked like a young 16 year old girl and appeared to have been attacked by someone because her wounds were not any ordinary wounds. She was wearing a regal-looking, long-sleeved, cobalt blue pirate shirt with gold trim, but this time she was wearing (really short) navy-blue shorts, same black and white striped fingerless gloves, same emblem necklace, and the same brown combat boots with white fur trim she was wearing in the real world. Riku noticed that her shirt were torn, shredded, and stained in her blood. Her white blonde hair was in an unkempt high ponytail and there was dirt and bruises all over her petite, delicate body. He shouted, "Mom! Please wake up… oh no. Not here too…**NO!**" He started crying into his mother's shirt and he continued to cry until he heard someone say in a booming, nonchalant voice, "She'll never awaken…Riku." Riku lifted his head up and looked around, but saw no one. Then a scary-looking face went about two inches in front of him and glided away. Riku recognized the face as the figure went by: It was the figure of Ansem.


	3. Fighting for the Truth

** Chapter 3: Fighting For the Truth**

Riku then shouted, "Ansem… I thought I smelled a foul stench…What have you done to my mother?! Release her **NOW**!"

"Sorry, can't do that. Once I do something like…that to her, there's **NO** going back. And anyway, what are you going to do if I don't release her? Do you want to kill or hurt me because of what I've done? If so, then be a man and do use your darkness now."

"I'm not going to be tricked by your mind games again…I will never use darkness!"

"Then I have an offer that you can't refuse… join my side, join the darkness and I'll release your mother right here, right now."

Riku hesitated and thought to himself, 'If I join his side, my mom will be safe but, I'll have to face the consequence of hurting innocent people again and I know how I felt before when I joined years ago; what will he make me do this time if I join him again?!... What do I do? I'm so lost.'

Meanwhile on the outside of Mizu and Riku's body, whatever action he performed or word he said, it was done or said in plain sight. Kairi and Sora even had to dodge a couple of keyblade strikes that Riku made. But, when Kairi and Sora heard and saw Ansem tell Riku to join darkness again, they couldn't stand by and let their friend give in. Sora shouted, "Riku, don't give in to him again! If you do, you'll lose more than just your mother and your light."

"Sora!?"

"Yeah, Riku… listen to Sora and me!"

"Kairi?!"

Sora then became suspicious and asked, "Mickey, is Riku the **ONLY** one that can hear us?"

"Yes, you two are the only people he can hear from the outside."

Kairi then had an idea and whispered it into Sora's ear. Sora nodded in agreement and explained, "Riku, you're the only one who can hear us from the outside. So, don't repeat anything Kairi and I say to you… listen closely. You're in your mother's mind and the only way to save her is if you defeat the figure of Ansem… only then will you and your mom escape his dark grasp."

"First of all, don't join sides with Ansem, because you'll just hurt innocent people and second of all, use both light and darkness to defeat him. You can do it Riku… I know you can. Sora and I believe in you." Kairi chimed in.

"Thanks you two… don't worry; I won't lose to a person like him. If I defeated him once… then I can do it again. I would do it as many times as I had to to protect the people I love the most." Ansem looked at Riku with snake-like eyes and smirked. Riku grabbed his keyblade and shouted, "Alright Ansem… I'm prepared to offer you a deal **YOU** can't refuse. Here's my deal: We fight to the death, no rules and no exceptions. If I win, you release my mother and me and **NEVER** return to the two of us…"

"And what happens if you lose?"

"If I lose, then I will either die or survive, and if I live… then I will become your prisoner… but you **MUST** release my mother."

Ansem pondered about the thought and exclaimed, "So in other words… no matter what, I'll have to release her."

"Yes!"

"…Well, ok. It's a deal, Riku." The two separated onto the dark floor, so that they could prepare for battle. "Oh! And one more thing… If you strike me with that puny little keyblade you have there, I've already won this battle. If you use darkness against me, you'll never save your mother and you'll become my pawn forever!"

"Who said I was just using darkness, Ansem?!"

"What are you talking about, you foolish boy? You've **ONLY** used darkness around me!"

"Well, you're partially correct but, mostly wrong. I guess you'll never learn from your past mistakes…I can wield **BOTH** light and darkness. So, I will defeat you and save my mother, my friends, and everyone else in the world. I will not lose!"

"You talk big, for a puny teenager."

"I'll show you how a puny teenager fights!" The one to make the first move was Ansem. Riku knew that he would have to be patient and wait for the right opening, if he wanted to save his mom. Ansem seemed to have the upper hand at first, but Riku was waiting for Ansem to strike him. He knocked Ansem down and pinned him to the ground. Riku leapt into the air and plunged the keyblade into Ansem's arm. Ansem groaned in pain, but then started to chase Riku. Riku was still young, so he outran Ansem. But out of nowhere, Ansem grabbed Riku around the neck and threw him to the ground. Riku collapsed and gasped for air. Ansem held his spear weapon to Riku's neck and exclaimed, "Tell me something, Riku: Did you honestly believe that you could defeat me and save the ones you loved? WRONG! You're weak… just like your mom and dad. And you know that… right!?"

"DON"T LISTEN TO HIM, RIKU!" a loud, caring voice said. Riku looked around and saw no one… but just then, he saw an orange and gold figure come near him. He had what looked like blackish brown hair and blue-green eyes. He was wearing an orange muscle shirt with gold trim on the sleeves and was wearing chestnut brown pants and dark black boots. He was also holding a keyblade and he was wearing a shard of rock or stone around his neck. He shouted, "Riku, don't give up yet! You can still defeat him with your combined power of light and darkness. I believe in you, my son."

"My son!? Who exactly are you?"

"I am your father, Jason."

At first, Riku didn't recognize the glowing figure. But then, a memory triggered in Riku's mind and he saw the very same face that was standing before him. Then all of a sudden, the same blue and gold figure that took Riku to his mother's mind appeared beside the figure of his father. She explained, "I know you can do it, Riku. I always knew you'd save me, my son. Your father and I love you so much." The two figures began to smile at him.

Riku looked at them lovingly and almost sobbed, but he still knew he had to defeat Ansem, so he shouted, "Mom! Dad! Please, give me your strength and I will defeat Ansem and save everyone… I care about!"

Ansem felt the impact from the blast of light Riku unleashed. Riku then jumped on Ansem and plunged the keyblade through Ansem's gut. Ansem gasped for air and groaned, while Riku back-flipped off of Ansem, thinking Ansem was going to unleash a surprise attack. "You cursed boy! How can you defeat me so easily!? Tell me now!"

"I'll tell you: It's because I have the support of my family and friends… and I know they love the real me, not the Riku that I was when I joined forces with you."

Ansem started to snicker and smirk at Riku. Riku didn't get why Ansem was laughing, but then he explained, "You think this is over… but I don't! It's not over until I run out of darkness… and you and I both know that I have plenty of darkness to defeat you. You and your mother will become my pawns and I'll take over all the worlds!"

As Ansem built up dark energy for his last attack, Riku summoned whatever power of light he had left to defeat Ansem… once and for all. They both launched their attacks at the same time and it caused an explosion… but, the light consumed the figure of Ansem and the darkness almost consumed Riku. Riku was prepared to take the blast… when he noticed something was keeping the darkness at bay. The figure of his mom and dad were protecting Riku from the explosion. After all of the darkness was destroyed, the figures collapsed to the ground… turning the ground from a barren wasteland to meadow grass when they landed. Ansem's clutch on Mizu's mind was gone and her mind went from a dark coma to a pleasant conscious mind. The figure of Riku's father disappeared after telling Riku to never give in to darkness and to protect whatever he loved the most, at any means necessary. The figure of his mom came near him and said, "I'm so proud of you, my son. You did everything you could to save your friends and I and I can't thank you enough for defeating the darkness within me. I know that you will grow up and do great things in the future. I love you and I'll see you in the real world soon." She then floated over to the unconscious body of the dream version of Mizu and dream Mizu gasped for air.

Riku held her in his arms and shouted, "Mom! It's me, Riku."

"(Groan)… you said your name was Riku. Is it really you, my son?" Riku appeared to her as a figure of light. She couldn't see his face, but she could hear his voice. She touched his face and felt his warmth.

Riku exclaimed, "It's me, mom. It's me, Riku. Your son." There was a flash of light and Riku returned to the real world, while his mom stayed behind.


	4. Challenges of the Heart

Riku's dream self went back into his real body and collapsed on the bed. Sora reached out and caught him, while Kairi whispered, "Riku… are you okay?"

Riku's eyes fluttered open and he looked around. Then he groggily asked, "Did I succeed?"

Kairi and Sora looked at each other and exclaimed, "You did it! Your mother will survive."

Mizu groaned and moved her head from one side to the other. Riku started to tear up and Kairi wiped his salty tears as they ran down his face. Mickey shook Riku's hand and exclaimed, "I'm so proud of you, Riku. I guess you had more power in you than I thought possible… She's gonna wake up soon. Do you know what you're gonna say to her?" Riku glanced at his mother and saw her scared face, as if she had seen a ghost. Riku started backing out of the room and took off running.

Sora chased after Riku, shouting, "**RIKU!** Come back."

Kairi feared that something was wrong with Riku. "Excuse us, King Mickey. Sora and I have to chase after Riku."

"Take all the time you need, Kairi."

Riku ran down the staircase, choking back his tears. He didn't want his friends to see him cry. Sora grabbed Riku's arm while shouting, "Riku, Stop! Just hold on a minute, please."

Riku fell on the step below him and hid in a sulk. He turned away from Sora and Kairi and started to weep. Kairi got on the step below him and Sora remained on the step above him. Kairi unveiled Riku's sad-looking face to see his red, swollen eyes, which were covered in tears. She reached up to hug him and Sora patted his back, while he just sat and sobbed.

After Riku started to calm down, Sora asked, "What's wrong, Riku? I've never seen you get this upset before."

"Sora, Kairi, I can't face my mother… I just can't!"

Kairi put her hand on Riku's shoulder and questioned, "Why can't you face her?"

"I can't face her because… I joined the darkness years ago and if she ever found out, she'd probably disown me as her son and kill herself."

Sora explained, "Riku, you dummy… she's your mother. She wouldn't disown you… she'd probably just be disappointed in you and ask you to never join the darkness again. Or, who knows… maybe she won't get mad at you at all."

"How do you know that?!... I can't face her! She'll probably kick me out of her home and tell me to **NEVER** come back!"

Sora sighed and exclaimed, "OH! I give up with you. Nothing that Kairi and I are saying to you is going through that big head of yours. She's your mother and she'd love you for being yourself, not for what you did. If you're sorry about joining the darkness, then now is the time to apologize for it and ask for her forgiveness. In the end, you'll feel good that you went to her, after so many years of heartbreak for the both of you. But, let me ask you something, Riku… Where's the real you? Where's my best friend? Is he the brave, courageous boy that I know or is he this scared, fearful one standing before me? If we made this trip for nothing… then just go home! Go back to those people you call friends! I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be disappointed about your past!"

Sora stormed upstairs in an angry mood while Riku stood up, attempting to grab him. Kairi stood up as well and got to Riku's level and explained, "Riku, I understand that you're nervous and scared about seeing your mother after more than a decade… and I don't wanna seem mean to you, but I have to agree with Sora. Where's the real Riku that he and I are friends with? Where's the brave, protective, courageous friend that we know? Is he standing here before us or is he suddenly filled with so much fear that he can't even say 'hi' to his own, blood-related mother? If you made this trip to just save her and move on, then you're just as cowardly as Ansem… just go back to Destiny Islands! Your mother would be better off without a coward like you! But let me ask you something: How much longer is your mom gonna have to grieve and fight dark comas before it kills her?!... Think about it." Her final words stabbed Riku like an imaginary blade that struck his heart and mind.

Kairi continued up the stairs to go after Sora while Riku sulked on the step, thinking about what his friends had said, even though it hurt him from the inside. He kept thinking about it, until he heard a voice from his head, "What do you think you should do?" It was the same voice that belonged to the figure of his father.

"Oh, no! Not you again. What do you want, Father?! Have you come to tell me I screwed up with my life because everyone else thinks I did!"

"No…I didn't, Riku…Son, why do you think you can't face Mizu?"

"I guess I'm… afraid."

"**WHY?**"

"I don't know… I just feel hurt… like something was taken from me. I feel like I've been robbed of the truth."

"How are you gonna find out the truth if you don't find out from your mom… Riku, your mom and I love you and we don't care if you went down a bad road."

"You don't?"

"No, in fact, your mother was just like you at around your same age."

"She was?!"

"Yes, she was protective and brave. She wasn't afraid of darkness… she would fight for what was right, no matter what happened… Go to her, Riku. She's lived alone for 14 years without a family. How much longer is she gonna have to be alone? Think about what I've said, my son. I love you." Riku felt his warmth and had an idea. He started upstairs, determined to apologize not only to Mizu, but to Sora and Kairi as well.


	5. Redemption from seeing Mother

**Chapter 5: Redemption from Seeing Mother**

Sora and Kairi were sitting outside Mizu's bedroom door, talking. They heard footsteps and saw Riku. Sora shouted, "**WHAT DO YOU WANT?! **Are you gonna be all mopey and tell us 'you joined the darkness' and that you can 'never return to the light?' Is that it?!"

"Just hear me out, guys… I'm truly sorry for treating you guys that way. I was just worried about my mother's approval of me because her opinion matters to me and I also haven't seen her in 14 years… I don't wanna make this trip a waste of my time or yours. I came up here, hoping that you'd accept my apology. If you don't, I understand… but I'm still gonna see her. If you do, I'd be really grateful."

The two looked at each other and smiled then they nodded in approval and both exclaimed, "We accept your apology!" Riku smiled too and the trio joined in an embrace. They remained that way for a moment and then, they started to break apart.

Riku then explained, "And now that that's over with… I have an idea."

"What idea?" Kairi asked.

"My idea is… that you and Mickey see my mother first. If she's sincere about seeing me again, I'll come out from behind this wall and surprise her. If not, I won't come at all. What do you guys think?" The couple pondered the idea and agreed that it was a great idea. Riku hid behind the wall and breathed heavily.

"Are you nervous, Riku?" Sora questioned.

"Yes, very!" Riku exclaimed.

"Don't worry… she'll love you. She'll be so excited to see you after 14 years." Kairi explained.

Riku took another deep breath, while Kairi and Sora went into the bedroom, leaving the door open for Riku's arrival if the mom really wanted to see him again. The two explained to Mickey of Riku's plan and even commented on how "intelligent he was." Riku heard and started to chuckle. But then stopped when he heard his mom groan and gasp. "(Groan)… Jason!... (Gasp)… JASON!... (Groan)…(**GASP!**)… **RIKU!**" She was sitting up on the bed, looking around.

She was almost near tears when Mickey said, "Good morning, Mizu."

Mizu stared into the tiny mouse's big, black eyes. "King Mickey… is it really you, Master?"

"Yes."

"Mickey… how wonderful to see you again!... have you seen my son, Riku? I desperately need to find him. I have to tell him something very important."

"I have seen him… in fact, I went on a journey with him."

"**YOU HAVE!?** If you see him again… tell him to come see me immediately!"

"I promise I will."

Mizu turned and saw Sora and Kairi. "Oh, why hello there! I've never seen you two here before. What are your names?"

"Well, I'm Sora…"

"And I'm Kairi… we're friends of Riku's."

"You two are friends with Riku? Tell me: Where do you live?"

"Well, Kairi and I are from Destiny Islands… but she used to live here in Radiant Garden as a little girl with her grandmother and I lived there with my father until I was 3. My father and I found Riku and he and I have lived on Destiny Islands ever since I was 4 and he was 5."

Mizu held their hands as they spoke and when they touched, she felt a presence in them. Then she questioned, "Oh, I feel a presence of light when I touch your hands. Are you… keyblade wielders?"

The two answered, "Yes… we're both keyblade wielders!"

Then Mizu exclaimed, "But, you two are so young!"

"We're both 15, Mrs. Mizu. You see, I am a Princess of Heart and Sora is the Keyblade Master."

"You're the Keyblade Master and you're a Princess of Heart?!… It is an honor to be in your presence… I have something I want to ask you two: Have you seen Riku? I need to find him."

"I'm right here, Mother." Riku exclaimed.

"That's ridiculous… I can hear you, but I don't see you." Mizu said.

"I'm right here; I'm closer than you think."

Mizu heard the voice again and turned. Her face was pale and she was close to tears. She looked scared when she saw Riku, almost as if she had seen a ghost. "Riku… I-I-Is it really you?"

"Yes, mom… it's really me. It's your son, Riku."

She looked at him closely as she hesitated towards him. She ran her right fingers through his short, soft, silver hair and ran her left fingers down his left arm. She described aloud, "You have the same color hair as my son… the same color eyes and skin… you even have muscles like my husband, but you have my body figure: tall and thin. You are the height I imagined my son would be and you even sound like him. I can also see you wield a keyblade and you carry the necklace I gave my son when he was 3… May I ask you something?"

"Yes, you may."

"When's the last time you saw your parents and where do you reside now?"

"I live on Destiny Islands and I remember seeing my parents when I was 3 years old. I lost them one night… a night when my parents were attacked by a masked man, wielding a spear."

She looked at him with bulging eyes and exclaimed, "That would mean… that you are my son! Oh, my sweet Riku."

"Mom!" The two joined together in an embrace and stayed that way for a moment. After a while, they separated and Riku stated, "Mom, I need to tell you something… it's really important."

The two sat on the bed and Mizu asked, "What is it, my son?"

"Well…I have done an awful thing in the past: I-I joined the side of darkness, which was led by the seeker of darkness. I didn't mean to, but I did it only because he said it was the only way I could save my friends from danger. He tricked me and I fell for it. But, I went on a journey with Mickey and learned how to control my darkness. Mickey brought me here to see you, but then I had to save you from the lingering spirit of the seeker of darkness as well. If you're angry or upset with me… I can understand why. I deserve to be disowned as being your son. **I DESERVE IT!**" Riku cried.

Riku covered his face and started to sob into his hands. Mizu looked at him with sad eyes, and then she pulled him close, reassuring him that she wasn't angry or upset with him. "Riku, I'm not angry or upset with you. I love you because I believe that the real you is sorry for what you did and I know that at your age… you will make life-changing mistakes. But, the key to moving on and righting the wrong is to learn from those mistakes. I'm mad at the person who did this to you: I'm angry at Ansem."

At this point, Riku was confused. "I don't understand… why you are not angry or upset with me… but at the person that did this to me… Wait a minute. How did you know Ansem did this to me? I never said that he did it."

"But, didn't he trick you into joining forces with him?"

"…Yes. But how did you know?"

"I'm afraid I haven't told you my darkest secret… the truth is, Riku… I know who Ansem is because I once fought him. But if I tell this secret, I must start at the beginning of my childhood."


	6. Mizu's Childhood as a Keyblade Wielder

** Chapter 6: Mizu's Childhood as A Keyblade Wielder**

"If you have to start there, then by all means… do it." Riku exclaimed.

Mizu explained, "Okay, my son… There's one thing you should know about me before I start my story… I'm a keyblade wielder."

Riku looked shocked when his mom said that. He thought to himself, "I knew it! I knew she was hiding something: that must have been what she was trying to tell me the last night I saw her and dad. It must've been!"

Riku's mother then described while remembering a flashback, "I was born in the home that belonged to an Aqua clan knight named Jeremy and an Aqua sage named Lena…"

Sora interrupted her and exclaimed, "Aqua clan whats!?"

"Oh, I see… you three don't know about the different clans. Let me explain and then I will tell you my story… There are 8 clans and 13 different attributes that each clan can control. The 8 clans are Aqua clan, Terracotta clan, Black-wing clan, Rose clan, Moonlight clan, Mortal clan, Wizard clan, and Frost clan. The attributes that each clan can control are different for example: Aqua clan can only control the natural attributes water and ice while Wizard clan can control all attributes. Keyblade wielders, like Wizard clan individuals can control all attributes. But, they must all be trained in order to use all 13 attributes to their advantage. Anyway, back to the story, I was a small child. I became tall and thin as I grew older and I was very wise, because I read books all the time. I loved to read. I had long brown hair and blue- green eyes and I was the combination of both of my parents' appearances, just like Riku. In fact, Riku reminds me of myself when I was his age. I remember that one day, I found a book in our clan's library about Keyblade wielders and the Keyblade wars. I decided to borrow it but, the librarian told me to just keep it and not return it. I thanked her for the book and took it home. I read as much of it as I could read, until I fell asleep on my bed. That night, I had a dream. In it, a voice told me to choose between a sword, a shield, and a wizard's staff, which were floating on three separate slabs of stone that were covered in fog. The voice then told me to 'choose wisely'. I picked up the sword first and the voice asked me if that was the path I chose, after it told me that the sword was the 'path of the warrior'. It felt like it had an evil presence, so I put it back. Then I picked up the shield, but I felt nothing. The voice said then that it was the 'path of the guardian'. I put that one back too. I had only one choice left: the wizard's staff. I picked it up and the energy in that weapon felt right. The voice told me it was the 'path of the mystic.' I chose the wizard's staff as my weapon of choice, but to gain that power, I had to discard the sword or the shield. Without hesitation, I chose to discard the sword. All of a sudden, the shield disappeared and the three stone slabs sunk into three individual puddles of darkness that were in the ground below them. It then revealed a staircase and I climbed it, following wherever the voice was leading me. Once I got up the stairs, it asked me to summon my power. I tried, but nothing happened. I tried a second time… but still, nothing happened. I tried a third time, and my hand started to glow white and blue. All of a sudden, a beautiful key-shaped sword appeared in my hand. I struck the air with it and it felt really strong. The voice then disappeared and I woke up the next morning. I felt something in my hand so I looked, and I saw the very same sword that was in my dream. I looked in the book the librarian gave me and figured out that the weapon I was holding was called a keyblade. But I couldn't figure out what the dream was about."

"I knew of only **ONE** person who knew more about keyblades because he himself was a keyblade teacher long before I was born: His name was Master Tony and he lived in my home village. That morning after I grabbed the book, I snuck out of the house before my mother came back inside to get something. I was wearing a hooded navy-blue cloak and was hiding the keyblade under my cloak with my right hand. I knocked on the front door to Master Tony's house and he looked through a hole at the top of the door. He saw that I was a child and let me in. He then proceeded to ask me where I lived, who I was, who my parents were, and what I was doing at his house. I explained to him that I lived a couple minutes from his home, my name was Mizu and that my parents were Aqua knight Jeremy and Aqua sage Lena. I also told him that I had come to ask him about keyblades. He looked shocked when I said that. He offered me something to drink while we spoke, but I turned him down politely.

He then asked me, 'My dear child, how do you know about keyblades?'

I answered, 'I know so much about keyblades because the librarian at the Aqua clan library let me keep this book.'

I handed him the book and he looked at it thoughtfully, as if it was a sacred book. 'What do you know about keyblades based off this book?'

'I know about the origin of keyblades, the keyblade wars, and I even had a dream that let me summon a keyblade.'

'You had a dream?!'

'Yes, sir.'

'Do tell me about it, Mizu.'

'Well, I was standing on a floor that was covered in glass or shiny green rocks. I had to choose between 3 weapons that were on 3 individual stone slabs. A voice told me to choose a path wisely. I picked up the sword first, but it had an evil presence, so I put that one back. I picked up the shield, but it had no feeling whatsoever, so I put it back. Then, I picked up the staff and cast a spell and it worked. I picked the staff as my weapon choice, but then the same voice asked me to give up a weapon to obtain the staff. I gave up the sword. Then the shield and stone slabs disappeared and revealed a flight of stairs that I climbed up. At the top, the voice asked me to summon my keyblade. I tried 3 times and on the third try, I finally summoned it, and it was a beautiful weapon. I struck with it and it felt right for me. When I woke up this morning, I found this very same keyblade in my hand. I snuck out of my house, grabbing this book and keyblade. The reason I came here was to ask you if you knew something about this, since you are a keyblade wielder yourself. Before you ask me how I know, don't assume someone told me, because no one did. I figured it out all by myself.' Tony looked at me, furrowing his brow and squinting his small, brown eyes. He flipped the pages in the book until he found something. He handed the book to me and told me to read the paragraph that he pointed to.

I read aloud, 'Keyblades speak to young children, male or female when they are in need of a new wielder. "A keyblade awakening" is a ceremony that takes the form of a dream in which the child must choose between three different weapons that are contained onto three separate stone slabs. The weapons are as followed: To the left of the child is a shield, to the right is a wizard's staff, and in front of them is a sword. If the child chose the sword, they have chosen the path of the warrior. If they chose the shield, they have chosen the path of the guardian. If they chose the staff, they have chosen the path of the mystic. Whatever path the child chooses will determine what kind of skills, strengths, and weaknesses the young keyblade wielder will have. A voice will then ask the child to summon a keyblade successfully. Once the child has successfully summoned the weapon, they become a true keyblade wielder and are ready to be taught by a keyblade teacher. The child must find a keyblade teacher and request their parent's permission to train away from home. They must then be trained by this teacher and take a MQE (Master Qualification Exam) to be a full alleged keyblade master. The only way for a child to receive a keyblade awakening is if they have a strong heart.'

I stopped reading the passage and looked up at Tony. He smiled at me and congratulated me for becoming a keyblade wielder. He even offered to train me, only if my parents gave us their permission first. I decided to show him to my house and let him meet my parents. Both of my parents were home, so I introduced him to my mom and dad and the both of us asked them to sit down to hear the truth. I told them all about the book at the library, the dream, the weapon called the keyblade, and Master Tony offering me to train at least several years away from home, with the promise that I could take off 12 days per year if my parents wanted to visit me. My parents agreed, thinking that learning how to use that weapon would be educational and that they were proud that I was worthy of wielding one. I started living with Master Tony, learning about the keyblade's origins, how to wield it in battle, Master Tony's life and how he trained other students, how many he trained, how I was the youngest and only female he ever trained, and other stuff about magic and ethers."


	7. Mizu's Teenage Nightmare

** Chapter 7: Mizu's Teenage Nightmare**

Riku stopped his mother and asked, "May I ask you something, mom?"

"Of course you can."

"Well, as you can see… in the photos of yourself when you were a little girl, you had dark brownish-black hair. But now, you have silver hair. Did you dye it that color or did something happen that made it turn that way?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I was just curious… it just seemed odd to me."

Mizu paused before answering before explaining, "I didn't dye it silver, it was an accident that caused it to change this color, and it made me make the wrong decisions...until I met your father. I remember that I was 16 at the time and was training for my Master Qualification Exam. My teacher had to run an errand and told me to continue training. I was practicing a new move, so that I could defeat my teacher in a keyblade duel. What I didn't know was that hiding in the bushes, was a danger that would change my life forever. It ran from one bush to the next. I heard it the first time and became suspicious. I heard it a second time and I threatened to hurt them if they came any closer. Finally, a masked man in a black cloak jumped out at me. He was carrying a spear and he seemed to have white hair. I blocked his attack and lunged at him cautiously with everything I had. He pinned me to the ground once, but I got away and knocked him off balance. Then as I swung my keyblade, he grabbed my left hand and injected darkness into me. It was so painful that I would have done **ANYTHING** to get rid of it. He let me go and smirked as I squirmed on the ground, squeezing my arm and screaming at the top of my lungs. When my teacher came back and saw me lying there, he picked me up and took me to my bedroom in his home. He did something that made the pain stop and the darkness went out of my body instantly."

"I woke up and asked him what he did and he told me to go back to sleep and that I could come back to training once I felt better. He suggested that I should wait for 3 to 5 days before training hard again. I slept for 2 hours, until I felt my skin, hair, and eyes burning. I went over to the sink and threw water all over myself until I was soaking wet. I looked in the mirror and the burning stopped. But then, from the top roots of my hair to the bottom strands, the color changed from a beautiful brownish-black to a shining silver. My eyes changed from sea-green to amber and my skin from light to dark tan. But, once my skin got darker up to my chin and my eyes got yellow up to the pupil, my skin and eyes reverted back to normal. The only thing that remained unchanged was my hair. But, I did figure out later on who attacked me: It was Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. When I met King Mickey and your father, Jason… they found something that I never could imagine: The secret to me being able to not be fully possessed by Ansem was this."

She bent her head over to the left of Riku and pulled up a single lock of brownish-black hair. Only one streak of it had remained. Riku gasped and beckoned the others to come see it. Kairi and Sora looked shocked as they stroked the hair. She bent back over and faced Riku. "I don't understand, what made it stay that color while the rest of your hair transformed?!"

"Well, my son… I believe that the light in my heart kept my hair from completely changing blonde, knowing that darkness was the reason for this transformation. It wanted to prevent me from becoming Ansem's pawn."

Riku looked at his mother in a very strange mood, as if he was thinking about how Ansem was able to find his mother and himself many years ago, when he was 3. Riku asked his mom to continue the story, and she did. "…The next day, I showed my teacher and he told me that it wasn't a big deal and that I would get used to this change. Eventually, I learned to love the color, even though it took my parents and friends longer to understand what I went through that day. Then months later, my parents asked me to join the Aqua sage tournament, in order for 6 new sages to be picked, when I was 16. It was a custom in our village that every 50 years, 6 new sages were chosen through an Aqua Sage's tournament. The competitors were young children between the ages of 13 and 18. The first 3 competitors to become sages were the supreme rulers of the Aqua clan village while the other 3 sages were the secondary rulers if something tragic happened to the highest ranking sages. The first 3 sages were the **ONLY** ones who had the decision to give their position to a runner-up if they decided they didn't want their position anymore. I was one of the competitors. My parents, friends, and teacher came to watch me. I was in 2nd place and I was up against my childhood friend, Diana. As a child, she gave me a nickname, Rainn because I used water efficiently along with my magic and skills and also because I loved the rain. True story, when I was searching for you in the Aqua clan, we found a young half-human half-Frost clan girl whose name was unknown at the time while we talked on the beach near our homes. Anyway, she wanted to be an Aqua sage so that she could do her parents proud. She could've beaten me and won the position of 2nd Sage, but I beat her first and won. She congratulated me after the tournament, but I told her that I couldn't be an Aqua sage. She asked me why and I told her my secret: I explained to her about the lies about my hair color, life outside of home and school, and my life and training as a keyblade wielder. I also told her that to be a keyblade wielder, I had to train 24/7 each day and that the duty of an Aqua sage requires them to remain in the clan for 50 years, which was something I couldn't do."

"She thanked me after I gave her the cloak and ceremonial hair-piece. She asked if I was sure and I told her I was. She then became a high ranking Aqua sage, just like she wanted and a week later, I passed my MQE. After that, my life started to fall apart. My parents were killed by the same man that attacked me and changed my appearance, and a couple days after my MQE (Master Qualification Exam), my teacher was killed. I decided to run away from the clan, but I got lost in the woods nearby. I fought off heartless, but I tripped as I continued to run. I collapsed, so I curled into a ball and started to weep, because I thought that I couldn't go on without my teacher and parent's support and love. I then heard a sinister-sounding voice call out my name. I dabbed my eyes, grabbed my keyblade, and looked around. I saw no one at first, but then, a man with long white hair, dark tan skin, and yellowish-orange eyes, wearing a white, black, and silver jacket with a black and red insignia on the chest, white gloves, black pants, and black boots with silver-lining on them approached me with a worried face. I held my keyblade to his neck and asked him to explain who he was, why he approached me, and what he was doing there in the woods. He explained that his name was Ansem, who had lost a friend because of the heartless and that his friend told him to escape as well as find a keyblade wielder who could help him, and that he approached me, thinking I was lost or hurt. I then started to lower my keyblade after he claimed that he was harmless and that he wasn't going to hurt me, even though he had a spear, which he claimed he only used on heartless and those who would do him harm. He asked me if I was alright and offered me his hand as he helped me off the ground. He asked me why I was crying and I told him everything about the keyblade and my life in the village. I started to cry again, so he gave me a white cloth to dry my tears. I used it and tried to give it back to him, but he asked me to keep it, saying that I needed it more than him, considering all the crying I did."

"He then asked me to go with him. I hesitated at first, but seeing that he was harmless, I went anyway. He took me to a place that he claimed was a secret, safe haven for keyblade wielders and humans. He said that he was lonely and that no one would live with him. I felt sorry for him, so I decided to stay with him for the night. He asked me later that night to change into new clothes, since my clothes were torn and old. He gave me a long-sleeved, hooded white dress with black stockings, red knee-high boots, blue fingerless gloves and a small jeweled hair-piece( in the symbol for heartless, but I didn't take notice). He also handed me a new keyblade (Keyblade of People's Hearts), saying that the clothes and keyblade would protect me from the 'seeker of darkness.' After I changed, he asked me to hold still. He claimed that if I was going to leave the next morning, he would have to cast a protection spell on me. I let him do so, but after he cast the spell by kissing me in the mouth and I pushed him away, I felt darkness coursing through my veins. I realized that he was Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and that he had cast a possession spell of darkness on me. I also figured out that he had tricked me, attacked me that one day and made my appearance change, and also killed my teacher and parents. But once I figured it all out, it was too late."


	8. Dark Possession & Meeting Jason

** Chapter 8: Dark Possession and meeting Jason**

"In my possessed form, Ansem told me that he loved me and that he wanted me to bear him a child, which meant in other words, the child and I would be his pawns of darkness. He only loved me because 1.) I was beautiful, intelligent, and musically-talented. and 2.) He knew I was a strong keyblade wielder. He gave me an order shortly after possessing me: Destroy the Aqua sages and take over the clan. I accepted the offer and went on my way. When the villagers saw me, they were overcome with joy, thinking I had run off and would **NEVER** return. One of them touched my shoulder and told me to get inside the village, saying that Ansem was looking for the Aqua sages and I so that he could do away with them."

"I told him to unhand me and to tell me where the Aqua sages were, if he wanted to stay alive. A young girl warned him not to reveal their location and he courageously said 'no!'I warned him that if he didn't tell me where they were, I would kill him and the others. I annunciated the question this time, but they still wouldn't answer. One of the villagers shook me and told me to 'snap out of it!'I called him a fool and told him that I couldn't be saved from darkness. Another villager tried to assassinate me, but I took him down and killed wife called me a killer and I took it as a compliment. The villagers warned the other members of the Aqua clan to tell the Aqua sages to escape from the temple. After I figured out where they were, I made my way to the temple where I found Diana, who was trying to escape. She told me about Ansem and the possessed person he sent. She also yelled at me to escape with her. She yanked on my arm, but I wouldn't budge. She asked me what was wrong, and I told her that Ansem had already consumed me and that I couldn't be saved.

She collapsed to the ground in shock, and as I raised my keyblade to her, she screamed, "Mizu, it's me… Diana! I may be an Aqua sage and you may be possessed, but I know the real you is in there… Don't give in to Ansem or the darkness! Fight him, Mizu." I felt like I had control of myself at that moment and I lowered my keyblade. My possession disappeared and I asked Diana if it was really her. When she replied 'yes.', I felt a sharp pain in my heart. Ansem wouldn't give up so easily without a fight, so he made the darkness in me course through me faster.

I shouted, "**NO!** You don't control me anymore, Ansem. My body won't be used for this!" I screamed and cried in pain. Diana tried to help, but I warned her to stay back. Eventually, I won the struggle and got my body and my heart back. Diana and I hugged, and then I warned her to leave, knowing Ansem would try to kill her to get to me. She wanted to help, but I insisted that she would be safer if she let me fight him alone. She asked if I was sure and I reassured her that I would be fine and that I could defeat him alone. She ran off, looking back every couple steps to see my face. I looked at her with a heartbreaking smile, knowing that Ansem could kill me or keep me as his pawn and make his darkest wish come true. By the way, how is Diana, Mickey?" Mickey closed his eyes sadly and turned his gaze from Mizu to the floor.

"Mickey… Is something wrong?... Did something happen to Diana? Mickey, please tell me."

"There was a village raid in the Aqua clan 14 years ago. Diana sacrificed herself in the Aqua Clan Springs to save the young Frost clan girl Crystal, her son Medy, and her husband William from harm. She's dead however her son and Crystal have recently married and set up a memorial for her."

"Oh No! That can't be. Why didn't I sense that years ago?!"

"I'm sorry Mizu, I thought you knew." Mizu's eyes started to well up with tears, but Riku comforted her. She continued her story, "Sorry about that…she was a good friend of mine."

"It's okay. I'd be devastated if Sora or Kairi got hurt or killed."

"Then, I felt Ansem's presence, because of my natural instincts and one of my dark abilities… You do know what a dark ability is, right Riku?!" Riku thought for a minute, then said he didn't. She explained, "A dark ability is given to those who are able to control their darkness after they join forces with it. My ability is being able to feel the presence of darkness from anywhere around me. I can feel it up to 20 feet through walls, floors, and even people's bodies…What's your ability? I'm pretty sure you have one too."

Riku then understood and told her, "I have an ability where I can smell darkness, but it's a very foul stench… especially when I smell Ansem's scent."

Mizu agreed with him and continued her story, "Anyway, I felt Ansem's presence and it was so strong that, I felt a big weight on my shoulders as I touched the ground. I knew he was behind me." He shouted, 'What are you doing?! You stupid girl! Get up and dispose of her now!'

'**NO!**'

'What did you say to me, Mizu?!'

'I said no, Ansem! You don't control me anymore and you won't use me as your puppet ever again!'

'Is that what you think?!' He summoned the power of dark possession to control me, but I used it against him. He couldn't even take a step towards me, since his own possession made him unable to move… I was way too strong. He finally stopped and decided to duel me. We agreed on the deal that if I lost, I'd go with him or he could dispose of me but if I won, the village and I would go free. In the beginning, I had the upper hand, but after a while, he held back and taunted me, saying it was my fault that my parents and my teacher were dead and that my friends and village were next…only because he was really going to use whatever power he had left to summon darkness for a special power. I decided to use both my dark and light keyblades to fight off the attack."

"Then what happened, Mom?"

"Well, I fought long and hard and then a moment later, he knocked me off balance. I was finished, but Diana had stopped the attack with her water lasso move. She threw him up against a wall and told me to finish him off while she went to check on the remaining villagers.

I said, 'Good luck to you too, Diana. I believe in you!' Then, I started to have the upper hand again, but I didn't see his next attack coming. It caught me off guard and I collapsed to the ground.

I struggled to get up, but he said to me, 'It's no use… no matter what you try. You could've joined me and we would've had one big happy family together. But instead, you betrayed me… so for that, you shall die!'

He raised the spear above his head and prepared to plunge it through my heart. I was ready to take the hit, knowing my friends and the village would be safe. As it got closer to me, a bright beam of light shot out from behind me and Ansem became blinded by the light, so he covered his eyes and winced in pain.

I looked shocked and confused, but then… a small talking mouse said to me, 'Come with me. I know of a safe haven where you can train with your keyblade and conquer the darkness that's inside of you." I asked him who he was and he explained, "I am King Mickey. I'm the ruler at Disney Castle and I rule alongside my wife, Queen Minnie. I'm also a keyblade wielder and apprentice to Master Yensid. If you come with me, you'll be safe from Ansem and the darkness… but you have to hurry! I can't hold Ansem at bay for much longer.' So, I grabbed both of my keyblades, held on to Mickey's hand, and we disappeared together. Then, the two of us made it to Disney Castle. I met his wife and overheard that they already had a keyblade wielder already staying there. I also met his court wizard, Donald and the captain of the guards, Goofy. Mickey asked me if I wanted to change out of the clothes Ansem gave me and I said 'yes'. Minnie showed me to her chambers and pulled from a small trunk a blue pirate shirt with gold trim, (really short) navy-blue shorts, white-and-black striped fingerless gloves, and brown, furry, knee-high Aqua clan boots with white fur trim. I looked just like I did when I trained with Master Tony, except I looked older and wiser and the clothes looked more regal then my normal clothes. I came out of the room and Mickey and Minnie agreed that the clothes suited me. It was almost supper that day and they asked me to stay and dine with them. At first I didn't want to, considering the fact that I joined darkness, but they insisted so I agreed. But, when Mickey told me that I could train with the other keyblade wielder, I told him while bowing my head to the floor that I didn't deserve to be called a keyblade wielder and that I brought shame to the name."

"He explained to me, 'Mizu… there comes a time in one's life where they must overcome a difficult decision. Think of it as traveling down a pathway and that right now, you're at the crossroads. You have to decide whether to learn from your mistakes or run from them. Master Yensid told me this once when I felt exactly like that: 'Everyone makes life-changing mistakes, especially teenagers. But, the key to moving on and becoming a great keyblade wielder is to learn from those mistakes.'" I followed his advice and joined him in the dining hall. At the table, polishing his keyblade was a handsome young man, with silver hair, green eyes, strong muscles, a beautiful smile, and a determined look in his eyes. Mickey called out to him and the man stood up to hug Minnie and Mickey. Then he saw me and asked who I was. I was shy at first, because I wasn't good at talking to other boys. I shyly told him my name was Mizu and that I was a keyblade wielder just like him.

He noticed my necklace and exclaimed, 'You're from the Aqua clan, aren't you?'

'Yes.'

'Well, you do look all Aqua clan, except for your silver hair.'

'Oh.'

'But I think it's beautiful. It makes you look...exotic.'

I smiled at him and also blushed as I replied, 'Thank you.' He seemed to be not so good at talking to women, because he stuttered a lot. After a while, my eyes darted around the room until I noticed his necklace and asked him, 'Aren't you from the Terra Cotta clan?'

'Yes, yes I am.'

'What's your name?... if I am so bold as to ask.'

'Jason, it's Jason.'

'Jason… that's a handsome name, for a handsome man.' He smiled at me too and almost chuckled. We then sat down and ate. Then we went to sleep early because the next day, I was gonna train with Jason and Mickey."


	9. Young Love

**Chapter 9: Fighting the Darkness Within and Falling in Love**

"I trained long and hard with Jason and Mickey, and it seemed as though Jason was showing me affection each passing day. By that time, we were both 18. Eventually, we both knew we had fallen in love with each other, so we became more affectionate towards one another and one day, your father took me to the garden inside of the palace, gave me two red roses and a paopu fruit-shaped hair clip, told me what he loved about me, and asked me if I would marry him. I said I would, so he put a diamond ring on my finger to symbolize our union with each other. We promised each other we'd get married after Ansem was defeated. Somehow, Ansem found out and became angry and jealous because I chose Jason over him. One night, I had a dream. In it, Ansem was attacking the castle on the night of a full moon and he was planning to possess and capture me while he killed Jason, Mickey, Minnie, and everyone else in the castle. Jason was sleeping one the other side of the bed and he woke up to the sound of my sobbing. He lit a lamp and held me tightly in his strong arms. He hugged me and told me not to cry, even though I still continued to sob."

"He then asked me about the dream and I told him, 'I had some sort of dream that seemed like a vision of the future in which… in which Ansem killed you and everyone else but captured me on the night of a full moon. It was terrible!' I was so terrified, but… your father told me to hand him his map of the moon phases for that month. We looked at it and found out that the next full moon was in 3 days! I was scared, but your father told me not to worry. I dried my tears and he had a plan. His plan was that he would pretend to be asleep while I hid in the darkest corner of the room. When Ansem came in and prepared to kill Jason, I would attack him myself. I accepted to the plan and we kissed and went back to sleep. We didn't tell Minnie or Mickey about what was happening since it would just worry and scare them. We thought it better if they didn't know."

**Author's Note: I know this is a very short chapter, but please bear with it. It'll get better from here. Please review and please enjoy all my stories. Luvs you. =)**


	10. The Fight Begins: Mizu vs Ansem!

**Chapter 10: Fighting the Darkness Within**

"Three days later, Ansem arrived, with some of his heartless. I felt his presence from the bed so I got up, summoned my keyblade, and hid in the corner of the room. I heard his loud, frightening footsteps and tried to hold my breath, which was easy since I lived near the water when I was a child. He crept into the room, telling the heartless to keep a vigil eye on the outside of the door. He tip-toed over to the bed and raised his shining spear over Jason's chest. Jason had his keyblade hidden underneath the bed covers and he rolled over to trick Ansem into attacking him. Ansem sneered, 'Goodbye, foolish man!' He raised the spear above his hand, and as his cold, large hands tightened around the middle and his smirk formed as he plunged the spear down… I screamed 'no!' and caught him off guard, smacking him in the head with my keyblade. I leapt away as he collapsed to the ground. Jason wrapped his left arm around my waist and asked me if I was okay. I said I was and a moment later, Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Minnie, and Yensid burst through the door, asking Jason and I if we were hurt.

We replied, 'No, we're all right!' Then suddenly, Ansem groggily leapt off the ground and faced Jason and me.

He explained, 'You will not… take her from me!...I won't allow it… why would a beautiful creature of darkness like her want a puny creature of light like you?!...You're so naïve and foolish to think that… she'd ever love any other man but me.'

'But I do love him, Ansem, I know that you love me… but you only want to use me for your own dark purposes… and that is something that I can't allow. If you really loved me, you wouldn't hurt innocent people to get what you want, including me!... But if you want me and the children I bear to be your pawns, then… you're going to have to fight me for that future!'

Ansem smirked, because he was certain that he was going to win this battle. The others pleaded with me not to do it, but I had no choice. He would've killed them if I hadn't done that. Yensid looked at me with a look of trust and praise in me, knowing that I could defeat him some way, only if I knew the answer… which I did. I knew that I could defeat him if I used both light and darkness. The others, including Ansem didn't know that. I started off having the upper hand in the fight, but eventually, Ansem knew that I had a weak point: Jason. He shot a beam of darkness, which was to be aimed at Jason. I ran in front of it and took the blast. The others screamed my name: They were becoming fearful. I felt weak as the blast kept on coming but… I had to fight it; I wasn't about to let him take over me again."

"As a last resort, I combined the power of my 2 separate keyblades and shot a blast of light and darkness energy at Ansem. Ansem took the blast and became brutally damaged. His attack had no effect on me after I attacked. I asked Jason if he could lend me his strength in this fight. Jason and I combined our keyblades and made it turn into one power, to use against Ansem. Mickey also joined in and together, we launched an attack at Ansem that almost nearly consumed him. I then commanded him to leave and never return. He exclaimed, 'This is over for now… but one day… I will take you and the child you bear and make you both my slaves of darkness. You're free until that day. I'll be back Mizu, you hear me!?" I was facing the other direction and was creating an ice shard to throw at him. After he started to disappear, I aimed the shard at him. It hit the wall and as I thought about his words, I collapsed to my knees and started to weep. Jason ran to me and held me tightly in his arms…2 years later, your father and I got married and then 9 months later, I gave birth to you."

"What did I look like to you?"

"You were a very handsome little boy… you had the most beautiful blue-green eyes and shiny, thick, silver hair. Your father cried when he held you in his arms and I became choked up after I heard you cry for the first time."

"How many people attended my birth?"

"Well, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, some of your father's family and of course your father attended your birth. But, there was also another person."

"Who?"

"Ansem."

Riku gasped and looked at his mom with shocked eyes. "Are you serious?! How did he come in unnoticed?"

"He didn't arrive unnoticed… he came but, he acted like he had changed from bad to good. He wanted me to let him hold you. Your father and I feared that he would take you and run, so I told him 'I prefer it if you don't hold him… newborn babies catch disease very quickly.'

"He acted like he understood and left the room after stuttering while saying, 'I have to go round up the heartless…. I mean check up on those heartless orphans I'm raising right now.'"

"It seemed awfully strange that he would raise the so-called 'orphans'. Your father, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and I didn't buy Ansem's story, so Jason and I suspected that he would try to take you away from us really soon. That's why your father and I never let you out of our sight and that's why you never knew the truth. We were afraid that you would try to take Ansem on yourself… which meant you would get hurt, and I could never let that happen. We had to be ready in case Ansem attacked the house and us to get to you."

"Mother?"

"Yes, darling… what is it?"

"I wanted to ask you…"

"Yes?"

"What happened that night when I was three… the day that Ansem attacked us? I need you to tell me the truth because; I don't remember much from that day."


	11. The Price of Darkness

**Chapter 11: The Price of Darkness**

"I'll tell you if you really can't remember…. Because how could I ever forget that night?" Mizu started to choke up and Riku patted her back, thinking that she was gonna cry. She quickly sniffed and grasped her son's hand, while she told her side of the story, "Well… I remember that you were tired after we went to the beach that day, so your father and I tucked you into bed early. You woke up just in time for me to bring you dinner. You asked me to tell you a story after you ate so; I told you a story about a female keyblade warrior. You asked if it was a true story about someone and I told you that it was a story about a friend of mine. Well… to tell you the truth…that story was really about me… oh goodness!"

"What is it, mom?"

"I was going to tell you about who your father and I really were and who you were to become when you became a man. But right as I was gonna tell you that you were capable of becoming a keyblade wielder, I sensed him: I sensed Ansem through the bedroom window. He was going to the front door… I knew what he was after: you!"

"Me!? But…but why?"

"He wanted to raise you as if you were his own because… he wanted to have a pawn of darkness, a son that was just like him: Something precious to love…. Something made of pure evil… I loved you very much and didn't want to lose you… so while he went to the door, I ran to the stairs and warned Jason while you sat on the bed, confused and worried. You asked me what was going on and I told you that someone was after us and that we had to leave immediately.

You asked me this question, 'What about daddy?! What if this person kills him?'

I told you in a trembling voice, 'Daddy will be fine. But he wants us to get out of here. There's a bad man after daddy, mommy, and you and your father wants us to stay safe. ' What do you remember after that, Riku?"

"I remember that we escaped through the bedroom window and ran to the beach. You hid me in a small, nearby cave and told me not to come out until you or Dad came and got me. I agreed to your request and I didn't see you after that. I heard you and father talking. I then saw a flash of light and saw these key-shaped weapons in your hand. I was only 3, so I didn't understand about what the weapons were. I saw the man, but he was masked so I never saw his face. You called him 'seeker of darkness' and told him to leave. He asked you to give me to him and you refused."

"He then exclaimed, 'If you won't give me the child… I guess I'll just have to take him from you myself!'

I saw and heard the three of you fighting and I heard you say, 'It's over, seeker of darkness. You'll never win as long as I'm still standing. Riku will never be yours!'

Ansem started to laugh and Father asked him, 'What's so funny?!'

'You fools! You really think this is over?! It's not over until I run out of darkness and we both know that where there's light, there's also darkness.' He shot some beam at you and dad and the both of you collapsed. He then grabbed you by your hair and threatened to kill you if you didn't hand me over. You kept refusing his offer and as he raised his spear to you… I couldn't see you die with my own eyes… I just couldn't live with myself if it was my fault that you died!" Riku started to cry and his mother and friends held him.

After Riku dabbed his eyes and calmed down, he started again, "I didn't want to lose you, so I came out of hiding and screamed to him, 'No, don't hurt her! Take me instead and do want you want with me, but please let them go!' You looked at me with tears in your eyes and I felt ashamed and proud of what I did. Ansem let you go, but went after me. You told me to runaway and never stop, so I obeyed your wish. But he caught me, grabbed my arm, and injected darkness into my left arm, which was the same thing that happened to you. My arm throbbed with pain and as you ran over to the man to attack him, he knocked you back down to the ground. As he smirked and left, I squirmed in pain and screamed. You ran over to me and held me in your arms while father struggled to get off the ground. Once you and father got me to my room, you were discussing on how you were gonna get rid of the wound. You and dad named many ideas until you came to one: taking the darkness out of me. You told dad and I, 'I love you both very much. You are my boys and I hope that one day, you'll understand why I did this for you. You are the reason I wake up each morning. You are my world and my life. Without you, I'm nothing. Don't worry, Riku. Mama's gonna save you.' Father pleaded with you not to do it but you told him you had no choice and asked him if he wanted me to die or live. You told Dad that you were gonna give your life up so that he and I could live whether he liked it or not and that he would have to do something after you took the darkness out of me: Strike with the final blow."

"You took the darkness out of me and it went into your body… and that's about all I can remember."

"This is what happened since you don't remember anything after I took the darkness out of you. I knew the darkness would control me… so I told Jason to strike me with his keyblade. He refused to hurt me because he loved me and didn't want to see me get hurt. I then told him that if he wouldn't strike me, that I'd do it myself. As I ran for my keyblade, which was lying on a table nearby, Jason grabbed me and kissed me.

After a moment, I pushed him away and asked him 'Jason, what have you done?!' Jason collapsed and I ran to him. My eyes were filled with tears and my face was pale as a ghost: I was scared that your father was going to die. Jason told me that he had taken the darkness out of me and that it had gone into him. He explained that he was weak against the darkness and that he couldn't fight it off much longer. I knew that he was gonna die sooner or later. I pleaded with him to hold on and to stay strong.

His last words were as followed, 'I want you to know something: My keyblade teacher, Master Blake knew this would be my fate. My brother, sister-in-law, and I knew what was in store for me. All I wanted to do was protect you and Riku, but it seems like I'm not protective enough.'

'I let all this happen. This is my entire fault. If I had never fallen in love with you, none of this would've happened.'

'But then I wouldn't be married to a beautiful keyblade wielder and have a handsome son. I want you to know that I love you and Riku very much and that I'm sorry that I let all this happen.'

'It's not your fault, Jason. I'm the one that joined Ansem's side… if anyone is being blamed for anything, it should be me. This is my entire fault!'

'Don't cry, Mizu. I have to leave you and Riku… only then will you get stronger… (groan)… but Mizu…'

'Yes, Jason?!'

'I want you to promise me something… I want you to promise me that you won't do anything reckless and that you'll protect Riku.'

'I promise, Jason. I would protect him with my own life if I had to.'

'That's good to know… (Groan)… I love you… my sweet… beautiful… sapphire… warrior… (Gasp)… (Groan).'"

"He loosened his grip on my hand and as he breathed his last breath, a tear fell from my eye onto his face. He was shedding silent tears as he looked at me for the last time. I screamed his name and shook him, but he would never awaken again. I sobbed as you were lying in your bed, asleep. After I dabbed my eyes and held your hand… you woke up and asked me what happened to dad. I lied and told you that he fell asleep. You thanked me for healing your injury and I told you a simple 'You're welcome.' Then all of a sudden, I felt weak as a sharp pain went through my chest. You became worried and asked what was wrong. I lied again and told you that I just felt scared about you getting hurt again. You promised me that you would never leave me and that you would try not to get hurt. Then I smiled at you and collapsed and the rest is a blur… What else do you remember, sweetie?"

"Well, I remember you collapsed and I shook you but, you wouldn't wake up. I thought maybe you were dead, so I held you in my small arms and eventually, I fell asleep. I then remember overhearing a scientist and his bodyguards talking about us after they entered our house days later. They took me and made me live with my uncle Samuel and his son, Sora."

"Wait a minute! Riku, who did you say was your uncle and his son?!" Sora questioned.

Riku repeated, "Like I said, Sora… my uncle's name was Samuel and his son's name was Sora… Hang on! That's your name!" Kairi, Sora, and Riku at this point were confused.

"Samuel was my father's name and Sora is my name...Mrs. Mizu?"

"Yes, Sora?"

"Do you know who Riku's aunt is if his uncle's son's name is Sora and his uncle's name is Samuel?"

"His aunt's name is Dakota. She was my sister-in-law and your mother."

"But, mom… that would mean Sora's my…"

"Cousin. Sora is your cousin because his father is your father's younger brother by blood." Riku and Sora looked at each other, stunned by the truth but also glad that they were related by blood. Kairi was also shocked and still a little confused, but was happy for the both of them.


	12. Connections Between Eraqus's Students

** Chapter 12: Connections between Terra, Aqua, and Ventus**

The group continued to talk until Riku brought up an interesting topic. "Mama?"

"Yes, darling…?"

"If you and dad were keyblade wielders… would that mean that Sora and I were keyblade wielders by birth?"

"No… unfortunately, keyblade wielders obtain their abilities based on how strong their heart is. You and Sora were mortals by birth. But, you did obtain them when you were 5… correct?"

"Yes! But how did you know?"

"Remember when I said I collapsed in my first dark coma when you were 3?"

"Yes."

"Well, when you were 5, I woke up from my slumber and my dark abilities showed me that you had obtained these abilities from a man with brown hair and blue eyes, who had broad shoulders and a keyblade. You touched his keyblade and obtained your abilities from him because your heart was strong. Do you remember that moment?"

"I do… he came to our island and I asked him if he came from a place far away from there because I had never seen him before, after that… he asked me why I wanted to leave the island and I told him that I wanted to become stronger so that I could protect the people and the things that I loved and cherished. He requested later that I touch his keyblade and if I had the abilities of a wielder, he would come back and train me as his apprentice. I touched it and this great energy surged through me… it almost… felt right. Then as Sora called my name, the man told me to keep that moment a secret or else I would lose that ability and never leave the island. Sora asked me to tell him who the man was and what happened, but I refused to tell him, even if he promised not to tell anyone about it."

Mizu smiled as she looked at her son and asked, "Do you know who the man was?"

"No, he never told me his name."

Mizu felt an energy surge shoot through her body and saw a vivid image of the man Riku had described. She exclaimed, "**WAIT A MINUTE!**"

"Mom?! What's wrong?"

"I know who the man is… I knew I had seen him somewhere. His father was a friend of Jason's. The man's name is Terra. He is an earth-wielding keyblade wielder like your father. He had 2 other friends and companions, Aqua and Ventus or Ven for short. Aqua was a young woman with blue hair and eyes and was a water-wielding keyblade wielder like myself. Ven was a wind-wielding keyblade wielder with blonde hair and blue eyes. Terra was the oldest and tallest, Aqua was the only girl and girlfriend of Terra, as well as motherly figure in the group, and Ven was the shortest and the youngest, as well as the most curious… in fact, you, Sora, and Kairi's names are very similar in meaning to theirs. Aqua means 'water' and Kairi means 'sea', Terra means 'Earth' while Riku means 'land', and Ventus means 'wind' while Sora means 'sky'. It all makes sense! That must be the reason why all of you are chosen keyblade wielders with similar names. I have a theory that Terra chose you to be his apprentice of the keyblade if something happened to him, while Aqua chose Kairi and Ventus chose Sora."

Riku, Sora, and Kairi looked confused at first, but after being reassured by Mickey and Mizu that the information was true and not made up, they eventually understood why they were named after 3 different attributes that they could wield, why they became keyblade wielders, and who their parents were before their birth.


	13. Mizu's Search for Riku

** Chapter 13: Mizu's Search For Riku**

Then Riku asked about a very shocking topic, "Mother…"

"Yes, Riku?"

"Did you ever abandon me after you experienced your dark coma?...No one told me you did, it's just I almost believed that when I was little." Mizu sighed and thought of a good explanation. But after Riku looked at her innocently, waiting for a reply, she calmly explained, "I never abandoned you. My dark coma kept me from coming to find you… You were **TAKEN** from me by a scientist and his 2 bodyguards while you were asleep and I was unconscious. When you were 5, I woke up and started looking for you after realizing that you weren't in the house and seeing what had happened in the past with my dark abilities. I started in town, asking people if they had seen a boy with silver hair and green eyes that was around the age of 5. They had no clue where you were and I kept hearing negative replies. Once I got to the scientist and his 2 bodyguards, they told me that you were on Destiny Islands. I was at first relieved to hear such joyous news… until they told me that the portal to that world was closed. **I ****COULDN'T**** BELIEVE IT! **I thought I would never see you again. The terrible news made my heart break and also made me burst into tears. They held me and asked if I was okay and I replied, 'Yes… I'm fine.' After I went back inside my house and locked the door… I went upstairs to your bedroom. As I looked at the bed with weary, puffy, red, tear-filled eyes… I leapt onto it and started to weep because I thought I had lost you forever. I screamed into the pillow, 'Oh my dearest Jason… I have failed you. **OH!** I failed you… I didn't keep my promise to you about protecting Riku. It's all my fault that he's gone… If only my body didn't give into the darkness and make me collapse, you would still be alive and he would've still been here. **IT'S MY ****ENTIRE**** FAULT!** I deserve **ALL **the blame.' But after a while, I calmed down."

"Later that night, I had a dream that seemed so real. It was a vision about Jason, created by my keyblade abilities and dark abilities combined. Jason told me not to be ashamed of the choices I made… saying that if I hadn't made those bad choices as a child, I would have never met him and would have never had you. He told me that the first step to finding you while leaving the bad memories behind, I should stop punishing myself for the mistakes I made as a child. He told me that he loved me, gave me a kiss on the forehead, and left in a flash of light… leaving behind 2 red roses and the paopu fruit-shaped hair clip he gave me when we got engaged, which symbolized our love. I woke up suddenly and looked at my bed-side table, which had the pictures of me, you, and your father in it."

"That's when I realized that crying over this misfortune wasn't going to help me find you… so I spent 12 years looking for you in many different worlds, as well as fighting heartless along the way. I **NEVER **stopped searching for you." Then, it seemed as though Mizu remembered something. Mizu then exclaimed, "I just remembered that I was going to do some keyblade training this afternoon… I don't want to sound creepy, even though I just met you hours ago but, would you like to come with me to keyblade training? It would give me time to see how well you and your friends can wield them, but I could also teach you some valuable keyblade abilities."

Riku looked at his friends, who nodded 'yes' and said without hesitation, "We'd love to train with you, Master Mizu." Mizu blushed a little and then went to a spot on the beach that Riku recognized.

It was there that she taught the 3 wielders how to use the attributes of earth and water and many more useful skills that they would need later in battle someday. After training, Riku and the others sat in Mizu's living room. When Mizu brought some hot chocolate for her and the kids to drink, Riku asked her, "Mother… ever since I met you, I wanted to ask you something but I haven't had the chance."

"What is it, Riku?"

"Would you like to come live me on Destiny Islands? It would reduce the amount of time it would take to travel from here to Destiny Islands and it would give me more time to spend with you."

"Are you sure you would be okay with that?"

"Absolutely!"

"Well, then alright… I'll come live with you on Destiny Islands. Even if I have to leave this place behind."

Riku jumped up and said "**YES!**"

Kairi laughed at him while Sora just stared at him blankly. Hour later, the kids helped Mizu pack up all of her stuff and put them into boxes while Mickey decided to head back to Disney Castle, but not without telling Sora, Riku, and Kairi's friends about where they were. Mizu then decided that the packing would take them a week so she decided to let them stay in her house until she had all her stuff packed.


	14. Home at Last & Riku's Gift

******Chapter 14: Home at Last and Riku's Gift**

After a week had passed; Mizu had finally got all of her stuff packed and was ready to go to Destiny Islands with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The group helped Mizu with her belongings as she nailed a sign into the ground that read "For sale". Then using a dark corridor with King Mickey's help, they teleported to Destiny Islands. Riku, Kairi, Sora, Mickey, and Mizu were welcomed home with open arms as their friends ran to greet them. When they asked Riku who the strange woman was and explained that she was his long-lost mother Mizu; they also welcomed her too, as well as introducing themselves to her. (They seemed very excited to see her.) Finally, Riku asked Mizu to come live with him in his own home and she agreed. (Riku was so overcome with joy when she made the agreement to stay a week ago.) He started helping his mom unpack her stuff as soon as she set foot in her new home.

They started in the living room and kitchen downstairs, unpacking furniture, putting it together again, and even putting items on some of the tables and shelves that Mizu had. One of the items Riku had become fond of ever since childhood was the old book shelf that he and his father made for Mizu's 23rd birthday as a present. Riku looked at each book he placed on the shelves lovingly, remembering the many times his mom would read all of those stories to him. (As a child, he thought the stories were so fascinating, so he wanted to be a keyblade wielder, just like the ones in his mother's books. In reality… he was destined to be a keyblade wielder who would become a hero. Also, all of the books were based off real battles and warriors.) Riku looked over at his mother, who smiled at him while she continued to put her stuff away. After Riku had unpacked all of his mother's things, he invited Mizu to meet him, Sora, and Kairi at their favorite palm tree the next day before sunrise for a special surprise, and she agreed to do so of course. After dinner, Riku went upstairs and while he was searching through his back jean pocket, he pulled out the hair clip that Jason gave to Mizu when they got engaged. He also pulled out a note attached to it which read, 'Dear Riku, if you have this hair clip in your hand, I want you to keep it. It would mean a lot to your father and I if you kept it and gave it to the girl you love the most. It was a sign of our marriage and it should symbolize your love for another as well. I hope it comes to good use but please, take good care of it. Your father and I love you very much. - Love, Mizu.' Riku laid the note on his desk and put the hair clip in his own hair, to make sure that no one could take it away from him.


	15. Life on the Islands with Mother

** Chapter 15: Life on the Islands with Mother**

The next morning, Riku met Sora, Kairi, and Mizu at their favorite tree. Sora asked Riku where he got the hair clip from and Riku whispered in his ear, "My mom slipped it into my pocket so that I could take care of it and anyway, what's it to you?"

"Nothing, just asking."

Kairi and Mizu commented on it and told Riku that the hair clip suited him well.

They all decided to go swimming in the water and practice keyblade training before sunrise. Mizu was the first to dive in the icy waters, then Kairi, Riku, and Sora followed. The four decided to have a swimming race to build up endurance and kill some time for fun. Sora raced Mizu and he lost while Kairi raced Riku and he won. Then, Riku had to race his mother, but he surprisingly lost, despite his constant winning streak against Sora. His own mother, a woman in her late 30's had beaten a 17 year old boy who was more than half her size. (She only beat him because she grew up around many areas that were surrounded by water for 37 years whereas Riku only grew up around water for 17 years but had never wielded it in battle nor been experienced with it.)

When the keyblade training began, they were better at keeping up with Mizu's movements than with swimming. They could block her attacks, hit her back, and even keep up her with her fast running speeds. Eventually they would be able to beat her in battle but for now, they would have to continue to train 24/7 for a month or two to even match half of her power in terms of excellent endurance and speed. After the 2 hour long training session, they went back to Riku and Mizu's house for breakfast and then they were gonna play and train some more until they were able to beat her in a battle. Riku had a happy life after the darkness had stopped controlling him and he finally learned about who he and his parents really were and learned more about his family history. He continued to lead a happy life and he would still remain with his mother and friends on Destiny Islands… forever.

**_THE END!_**


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